An Ocean of Feathers
by Late Night Iridescence
Summary: Ace and Luffy never expected to see Sabo again. Now he's back in a way no one could have anticipated - and he has a job to do. Angel!Sabo AU Ace/Sabo/Luffy


Pairing: Ace/Sabo/Luffy

Word Count: 4373

Rating: NC-17 (read the warnings, please)

**WARNINGS: **Features underage Luffy (14), explicit smut, and mild religious themes, some of which could be considered blasphemous. Read at your own risk.

It was a beautiful day, the kind where blue sea and sky smudged together on the horizon so you couldn't tell one from the other, as Ace emerged from Mt. Colbo's snarling jungle and onto peaceful waterside cliffs. The pirate-to-be glanced over his shoulder time for any wayward little brothers, though it was merely an ingrained habit; Luffy remained tucked away in their tree house, blissfully power napping his way through post-sex languor.

His mind lingered on the way Luffy had looked as Ace tugged on his shorts and draped a blanket over the younger boy's bare thighs: dark hair tousled and cheeks flushed pink, stomach a sticky mess, the fingerprints Ace bruised into his skin already fading. And when he returned they'd do it all over again.

For now, Ace had one last lose end to tie up.

The marker was a simple thing, crafted from two gnarled branches and lashed together by the trembling hands of a seven year old. Yet it stood out against the grass and sea, blossoms of every color imaginable twined around wood and beneath the goggle straps of Sabo's tattered hat where it perched atop the marker, jauntily observing inexorable tides and starry nights and the hot summer sun. Ace remembered the day he'd caught a glimpse of black on the jagged rocks below this very spot, remembered diving after it without any real idea what it was but somehow _knowing_. Luffy's face when he'd presented the sodden top hat, bleeding but triumphant, made nearly drowning worth it. And though Ace wouldn't admit it - even under pain of death - just having a piece of his brother and best friend to hold, to feel…he couldn't have wished for a better gift.

He approached the marker and flopped cross-legged before it, absentmindedly noting a few withering flowers. He'd send Luffy to pick more; choosing the biggest, brightest, craziest blooms he could find was Luffy's favorite task. Little brother was careless with a lot of things, but the graves upkeep was not one of them.

"Hey Sabo." Talking at the marker had been uncomfortable and embarrassing in the beginning, back when he could hardly speak for the effort it took not to break down in front of Luffy. That was years ago; now, it wasn't uncommon to see one or both of the brothers chatting away, or even napping, at the foot of Sabo's grave. "Luffy finally convinced me to take off. So I'll be leaving tomorrow, and I came to say goodbye." Ace collapsed onto his back, bare skin tickled pleasantly by gently swaying grass. Maybe he'd go shirtless more often.

"I just felt like I needed to give you a heads up so I won't back out. You'd call me a sap." Ace sighed. "I'm seventeen, and I know we agreed seventeen was the age to set sail, but it's still months until my next birthday. No reason I shouldn't hang out for a while." He could practically hear Sabo's mocking laughter. "You know Luffy is a worrisome kid. I can barely imagine the trouble he's gonna get into without me here to watch him.

"That's the real reason I'm visiting. Got a favor to ask you, brother," he murmured at the sky. Ace might not be the biggest fan of God and Heaven, but he sure as hell believed in Sabo. "Look after him while I'm gone."

"You don't even need to ask."

Ace scowled at himself. His brain was doing that thing where it was convinced Sabo was _right there_ and had been all along, almost if the guy was standing behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut against the glare of the sun and let himself pretend, just for a second - until someone stepped purposely into his light. Ace blinked one eye open and okay, now he was straight up hallucinating. Or fantasizing.

Sabo towered over him, smirking and looking exactly how Ace'd imagined a seventeen year old Sabo _would_ look, had he been allowed to grow, except for the proudly bared chest. That was new.

"Right!" Ace said loudly, pushing himself to his feet. "Apparently Luffy's crazy is catching. Most definitely time to set sail."

"What, no hug? Not gonna throw a punch? C'mon. You haven't seen me in seven years!" Fake-Sabo snorted and shook his head. "I get it. You think you're hallucinating. Well," an arm was slung across Ace's shoulders, and he fought not to jump at the warm, heavy weight of the solid limb, "you aren't. Not that I've come back from the dead or anything impossible."

Ace tried to disregard fake-Sabo, he really did. But his friend was vivid and lively, and if he leaned just so into Sabo's personal space, sultry puffs of breath tingled across his cheek. Steadfastly ignoring the hot throb in his chest, Ace reluctantly gave in to his curiosity and asked, "Then what are you?"

With a wicked flash of knowing grin, Sabo said, "I'm an angel. Specifically, a guardian angel." His smug smile slipped away when Ace's knuckles cracked sharply against his skull.

"Idiot! Who would believe that?" Ace shrugged Sabo's arm from his shoulders, but it was the other who stepped back, hands raised in placation.

"Okay, okay! Let me show you." For an awkward moment they were just two men, observing each other across an uncertain gulf. Then Sabo closed his eyes, nose scrunched in concentration; a beat of dead silence fell, and Ace forgot to breathe as the space at Sabo's back shimmered and an enormous pair of wings exploded into existence.

Ace could only stare, mouth agape, at feathers the same shifting colors of the ocean they both loved. Later, Ace would recall it was the mysterious cerulean-turquoise that convinced the dark haired man it was real, that Sabo was (maybe) an angel and he was _back_. For good, if Ace had anything to say about it. And _oh_ did he ever.

"How did you convince _God_ of all people to let you come down?" he asked distractedly. Now that the doubt had receded Ace was having difficulty tearing his eyes away from Sabo's matured features, or the delicate curve of his wings and entrancing play of color.

"That's the best part! I didn't have to. Apparently you and Luffy qualify for a guardian and I volunteered for the job." A smirk crept across Sabo's face. "There was very little competition once they understood you two were heading for the Grand Line. Even the angels believe that place is Hell on Earth."

And Ace could help himself; a strange, roiling intensity forced it's way between his lips as laughter, hysterical laughter that forced him to his knees and had his eyes streaming. He was pulled tight against a body burning hotter than anything human and the tears came hard and fast and uncontrollable, mirth subsiding into sobs muffled by Sabo's coat. The angel soothed his hands along Ace's back and simply held him until the trembling stopped.

When Ace could breathe again, he drew away to see Sabo smiling fondly, a thumb brushing his damp cheek and painting salt across his bottom lip, Sabo following the trail with his own mouth so they were kissing, closed-mouthed and gentle, and when Sabo whispered _I missed you _he felt Ace smile.

Eventually, they separated and Ace playfully flicked Sabo in the forehead. "Let's go see Luffy."

"First, let me…" Sabo stood and strode towards the grave marker, lifting the ruined top hat away. Ace watched in awe as tears wove together and burns disappeared beneath his touch. The angel jammed the newly restored hat onto his head were it belonged and held out a hand. "Wanna fly home?"

* * *

The tree house creaked under their weight as they landed in a flurry of wings. Sabo grinned at the picture Ace made, trying to push his horribly wind tousled hair into some semblance of order, pink in the face and breathless. His gaze shifted to where Luffy lay sprawled across a pile of blankets, just as ruffled as Ace and resting peacefully.

Leaving Ace to recover from the overwhelming thrill of first flight, Sabo crawled onto the blankets and cupped the sleeping boy's face in his palm. He sighed at the feel of Luffy's smooth skin; Sabo may have cheated and spied on them from Heaven's halls on occasion, but it had been years since he'd physically touched either of his brothers and the loss was an acute one.

There was a thump of fabric and then Ace was kneeling between Sabo's extended wings. Heat shivered along his spine as Sabo realized Ace had removed the single article of clothing he'd been wearing. "Eager are we?"

"As if you're not," Ace teased, reaching around to squeeze Sabo's half-hard erection through his pants. "Now lose the clothes and wake Luffy."

Any other time Sabo would have a smart comment about how Ace wasn't captain just yet, but feeling the words growled against the sensitive shell of his ear thoroughly convinced Sabo to save it for later. He easily winked his clothes out of existence - the joys of angelic superpowers - and, snickering at Ace's muffled exclamation of surprise, lowered his mouth to brush a kiss across the bridge of Luffy's nose. "Up and at 'em, bro. I guarantee what's happening out here is way more exciting than anything you could be dreaming."

Luffy's eyes fluttered partway open, lips curving softly as his half awake mind registered the angel's familiar face. "Hiya Sabo."

"Hey," he murmured, swallowing against the trip of his heart. "It's been a while."

"Nuh uh. I dreamt about you last night too."

"But this isn't a dream." He pinched Luffy's cheek, hard. "See?"

Now fully awake, Luffy popped upright so quickly his skin stretched away from bone, caught in Sabo's fingers, and the blond let it snap back. Luffy took in the wings, how Ace was draped contentedly along Sabo's back, and scrambled into his lap. "You have wings! Are you an angel? Did you come from Heaven? Can you stay?"

"Yes, yes, and…yes." Luffy whooped happily and tossed his arms around Sabo's neck, squeezing and accidentally twisting their hips together.

Sabo swore and clamped his hands to Luffy's waist to keep him still. But Luffy would have none of that, grinning at the feel of Sabo hard against his thigh. Ace's face was close, chin propped on the angel's shoulder, and Luffy stole a quick kiss before focusing on his long lost brother; immobilized by Luffy at his front and Ace behind, arms suddenly pinned by someone's knees, Sabo had no choice but to sit and take it as Luffy dropped playful kisses across his lips, mouth darting away to a cheek or eyelid when he tried to deepen them.

"He's a wicked tease," Ace breathed, tongue dancing briefly along the edge of Sabo's ear. "One time he managed to tie me down while I was sleeping. Thought he'd never let me come."

Had his friends always been sex demons? Was this some sort of latent D trait that emerged when one came of age? He panted as Ace pressed his erection to the crack of Sabo's ass, mind flooded with images of being bent over and screwed into the protesting floorboards so hard he couldn't walk for a week even with his enhanced healing. Oh god, he wanted it so _badly_.

When a hand buried itself in his feathers, Sabo was slugged in the stomach by pleasure. He hadn't know the damn things were so sensitive! Luffy and Ace froze as he arched violently, Luffy very nearly tossed back on the blankets by Sabo's urgent grinding.

"What happened?" Luffy asked. Sabo dazedly wondered how he could possibly still be hard after _that_.

"I only touched his wings." Ace reached around and tugged on a feather in demonstration. Sabo twitched weakly in response, body unaccustomed to the raw bliss that seared through him, and Luffy wasn't helping at all by leaning forward to wind his tongue through the quills. His muscles went so lax he was completely at their mercy. Neither brother relented, too caught up in the feel of silky feathers on their fingers.

"S-Stop. _Stop_," he eventually gasped, every inch of him singing in bliss but unable to find release. Ace and Luffy finally broke away, glancing at each other guilty when they noticed Sabo's frustrated tears.

"Oops." Luffy kissed his forehead gently. "Sorry Sabo."

"Let him fuck you instead," Ace suggested. Hunger burned in his eyes and Luffy nodded in agreement. "We've been imagining it, you know. What it would be like if you were here every night. Touching us." Ace's voice tingled against his skin as though branding him, not the accusation it rightfully should have been - Sabo had been gone too long - but understanding and a subtle pleading to let them have their way.

"Whatever you want," he said, and the kiss of gratitude he received in return was sweeter than Heaven's wine.

They pulled away to find Luffy watching them happily, bottle of lube in hand but content to simply observe his brothers enjoying each other. Sabo opened his arms so Luffy could nestle close. Their moment was ruined by the snap of the bottle cap; Ace had snatched the lube for himself and now poured a generous amount into his palm, leering at Sabo as he did.

Ace's hand disappeared and a second later the angel felt slick fingers prodding his entrance. One dipped inside to explore and Sabo, still relaxed from the earlier wing torture, took it easily. This wasn't a new experience - someone who bottomed as enthusiastically as Luffy did was bound to make a guy curious - yet it was already so much better than the times he'd tried it himself. Talented hands touched places that set his nerves alight. When Ace finally added a second finger and hooked them into his prostate, Sabo was ready to beg.

But Sabo still had a small spark of dignity left, thank you very much, so instead he tumbled Luffy into the blankets and distracted himself with the pretty picture little brother made when Sabo spread his legs apart. Luffy looked back, curious and aroused.

The fruit-given stretchiness of his body meant Luffy didn't necessarily need preparation like an ordinary man, but Sabo coated his fingers in saliva, swirling his tongue across the knuckles to make a show of it and hoping he didn't look like an idiot. The lusty way Luffy glanced between Sabo's mouth and his own cock convinced the angel it was worth it. He shoved them inside and immediate sought Luffy's prostate; Ace's expert messaging was proving increasingly difficult to ignore.

But - Sabo wiggled his fingers to be sure, enticing a low moan from the boy beneath him - Luffy's ass was already wet with something. He drew his fingers out and saw white."Did you and Ace…?" Luffy nodded, and Sabo was seized with the urge to stretch him wide and watch Ace's semen leak from the tender pink hole.

"Twice today. We weren't exactly expecting you," Ace said, "But I would've done it even so - this way he'll be stuffed full of us both."

Coming to the conclusion that Ace was evil and trying to kill him _again_, Sabo growled, "Shut up and fuck me."

Ace obliged by tugging his fingers free and retrieving the lube. Squirting the liquid onto his erection and letting it drip down to his balls, he reached around to slick Sabo with an irritatingly light grip. Luffy helpfully canted his hips while Sabo too busy struggling with his self-control to notice and Ace took the initiative and pushed so the head of Sabo's cock sank inside.

"Goddamnit, warn a guy!" He swatted the hand away and thrust until he was fully seated, Luffy trembling as he did. Forget God and the angels - Sabo had found his personal heaven. He went to withdrew but Ace held him steady."Stay still," Ace muttered, and then Sabo felt like he was being split open by Ace's length as the human slowly worked his way in, each inch forcing Sabo harder into Luffy. He was caught between the sweet clench of Luffy's body and the aching pressure of Ace so deep it was almost unbearable.

When Ace thrust for the first time Sabo wasn't sure if he wanted to cry or cry out. All he did know was that this would be over very, very soon, and he scrambled to find the leverage to jerk Luffy off without loosing his shaky purchase on the blankets. They shifted under his knees with every rock of Ace's hips until Sabo had no balance at all and could only let Ace screw him towards oblivion.

He did manage to keep his grip on Luffy despite the awkward angle, sweeping his thumb over the tip and smearing the dampness there to ease the friction. Luffy whined and began to tighten, muscles clamping onto Sabo like they'd never let go. The pleasure spiked when Ace set his teeth into a feather and slammed against Sabo's prostate, setting him off so intensely that he could only rest his cheek on Luffy's shoulder and surrender to the ecstasy. Sabo was vaguely aware of Luffy convulsing, heat splattering their stomachs, and another pulse seconds later as Ace finished so far inside Sabo could practically taste it. Ace pulled out and flopped to the side, leaving Sabo and Luffy to untangle themselves.

Some time later, when Luffy was snoring between them and snuggled happily against Sabo's feathers, Ace propped himself up on his elbows to get a better look at the drowsy angel. He was sprawled on his back, arms flopped above his head as if stretching was too exhausting. Ace hated to ruin the afterglow. Yet a nagging question refused to let him relax and enjoy their last day together as a trio. "Why are you here?"

"Where?" A lascivious smirk crept across Sabo's lips. Ace squashed the urge to bite it. "In your bed?"

Since Sabo was so obviously begging to be bitten, Ace obliged.

His brother grunted and snagged his hair, refusing to let go and turning Ace's act of revenge into a messy kiss he very nearly lost himself in. Ace wouldn't be distracted so easily; groping blindly in search of some part of Sabo to thump in protest, his fingers encountered the downy ridge of a wing bone and squeezed ruthlessly. Sabo jerked and arched with an agonized groan. "Nn, you jerk. Stop that!"

"Then answer seriously."

"I don't know what you-" Ace smoothed his thumb in tight circles, watching in satisfaction as Sabo's feet scrabbled against the blankets in aborted escape, the wing Ace teased pinned by Luffy's weight. "Alright, alright! I'll talk."

Ace made himself comfortable on Sabo's stomach, the hand previously stroking the feathers moving to tangle lightly in their brother's sweaty hair. Vibration tickled Ace's cheek as Sabo sighed and said, "Truthfully, I don't know much about my 'mission' as it is. All the Big Guy told me, and I quote this word for word, was that 'Ace and Luffy have an epic destiny and it's _your_ job to make sure those crazy kids don't get themselves killed before they do…whatever it is they're supposed to do.' Not joking, I swear," he added in response to Ace's bemused silence.

"Destiny?" Ace frowned. "We live our own way."

"I know that. But I've been thinking - what if you or Luffy were born to be Pirate King?" Ace scowled harder and whacked Sabo in the ribs. "_Not_ because of your father."

"So Heaven supports pirates?"

"Don't get smart with me," Sabo growled, and hauled Ace up by the ear to kiss him. "There's no use worrying about it now. I have to check in with Heaven for occasional reports, and I'll do some digging. 'Til then…" Sabo shook his head and kissed Ace again. "Just think of me as a good luck charm."

That earned him a chuckle. "We're all doomed."

They chatted quietly for hours - catching up on the small adventures Sabo had missed during training, the years between his death and first learning to summon an image of the world below - a great deal of that time spent talking about their little brother: his strength and determination, his growing independence. Ace admitted, hand gripping forcefully at Luffy's hair, that Luffy wasn't the hopeless idiot he used to be.

Luffy stirred, swatting Ace's hand away and initiating another round; claiming the angel for himself, Luffy held Sabo down by the wings and settled between his thighs, pleasantly surprising his friend as he carefully reopened Sabo with fingers and cock. Ace kneeled beside them, forgoing Luffy to get his mouth on Sabo's erection, allowing the gentle motion of Luffy's hips to set the pace. The soothing, slow rising pleasure was a nice change and Sabo thoroughly enjoyed himself until Ace and Luffy decided it was the perfect moment for narcoleptic fits.

* * *

The high moon was casting deep shadows when Dadan woke. She frowned and rolled into a more comfortable position, determined to drift off. Her brats would show up soon, as exhausting as ever - she wasn't even sure what had woken her in the first place.

"Sleeping well, old hag?"

Dadan had a gun under her pillow. Garp may have been keeping her whereabouts hidden from the authorities, but there were other gangs of bandits on the island. Not all of them accepted the damned mountains were hers.

"Oi oi! You're _not _gonna shoot an old friend, are ya? Not that it'd do you much good."

When the owner of the voice stepped into the open, Dadan could only think '_impossible_'. This man couldn't be the third brat she'd lost so long ago, the one who very nearly broke Ace and Luffy like her own half-assed attempts never could.

Of course, the fluffy feathered appendages protruding from his shoulder blades thoroughly convinced Dadan she was dreaming.

"You stupid kids won't even let me sleep in peace. Get out of here!"

"So rude! And I only came to say hello."

"Like hell you did - go back to whatever part of the afterlife you crawled out of."

"Couldn't even if I wanted to," he said, unlatching Dadan's window - _without _her permission, impertinent shrimp - and perching on the sill. His wings unfurled into the warm night. "Got a job to do."

"Annoying innocent women?"

He laughed, raucous and far too loud. "Nah, gotta make sure Luffy and Ace don't get themselves killed at sea. Bugging old hags is just a perk."

"You little-!"

"I supposed I should thank you," he interrupted with a smile, "for making my job easier. You've taken great care of them."

"I've done no such thing. Those ungrateful brats still run wild and get themselves into all sorts of trouble," Dadan grumbled. "Ace is leaving, so take the small one with you! I refuse to babysit anymore."

"No can do. Luffy wants to stay until he's seventeen, so you'll have to put up with him for a few more years."

"He would, damn it." Dadan was growing sick of this. Any longer and she might start believing she was _awake_. "You said what you wanted. Go already."

"Hai, hai." He braced his hands against the frame, ready to take off, but Dadan made an angry noise, like she was pissed at _something_ and had a few words to say about it.

"This is a nightmare, so I might as well say it. Watch those boys close, you hear? God knows their blood won't let them live carefree forever." She was never drinking again.

Crouching on the edge of the sill, Sabo glanced over his shoulder at the woman, already drifting with a little angelic influence. "Sweet dreams, old hag."

* * *

Epilogue - Three Years Later

"Can't believe you're still bothering with this," Sabo said as Luffy draped a new wreath of flowers across the old marker. "Unless it's for appearances, in which case I owe you _so_ much more credit."

"It was Ace's idea. But I would've done it anyway - even though you came back, that doesn't mean you your death never happened."

Sabo frowned and dragged the younger boy between his legs, propping his chin on the crown of Luffy's head. "You guys can't let it go, huh."

"We're not out for revenge - you _are_ back - but we lost seven years. That's a really long time! And both of us, especially Ace, want to know why."

"There's no logical reason someone blows up a kid, Luffy. The world is like that, and you can't do anything about it. Not yet." Sabo thought briefly of Luffy's father, a man who saved lives, who listened to a child's pleas and understood. "But there are people who fight to change it. Maybe you'll meet them one day." He grinned at the thought. Dragon and Luffy had a lot in common for two guys who'd never met.

Luffy twisted in Sabo's arms to face him, interested. "You know a lot. Do you know who killed you?"

Sabo chewed his lip, thinking back to that day. He remembered marveling at the sheer size of the ship floating past, the boom of a cannon and his own ship burning around him, the stifling heat and smoke as he struggled to smother the flames before they engulfed everything. He remembered the second bang, and looking up just in time to glimpse the explosive that would end his life. And if he'd heard about the visiting Tenryuubito…well, he still couldn't be sure. "Nope."

"Oh. Okay." Luffy rested against the angel for a moment, eyes clear and steady. Trusting. Then he bounced up and stretched. "Come on! Our adventure is waiting!"

Sabo reached out a hand, expecting to be pulled up. Instead, Luffy smacked his palms into Sabo's shoulders, sending him sprawling. The dark haired boy laughed and hurtled towards the forest.

"You'd better run!" Sabo hollered after him. With a huffed laugh of his own, the angel willed his wings into existence and spread them wide. He had a pirate to catch.


End file.
